The consultation over a devolution deal for East Anglia has come under fire, with the former leader of Norfolk County Council angry that councillors were not given sight of what the public could be asked ahead of a crucial vote.

Norwich Evening News: Cliff Jordan says he wants Norfolk residents to have a say on devolution.Cliff Jordan says he wants Norfolk residents to have a say on devolution. (Image: Submitted)

The county council voted, by 34 votes to 28, on Monday to endorse and support a deal. The public is now due to be consulted over the deal, although the no vote by a string of councils and the uncertainty over the future make-up of the government has cast doubt on the process.

The government has offered Norfolk and Suffolk an extra £25m over the next 30 years (£750m in total) to spend on new roads, transport links, and another £100m over the next five years to help build affordable homes, plus an additional £30m over the same period specifically for Norwich and Ipswich. An elected mayor would be part of the deal.

But former County Hall leader George Nobbs, leader of the Labour group, has hit out at why councillors on Monday were not given sight of draft questions proposed in a MORI-run telephone survey. He said district councils had seen that draft before Monday's meeting started, but county councillors had not.

He added: 'I am horrified that councillors voted for a consultation which we were told we could not see the wording of because it had not been written, yet district councils had it just before the meeting started.

'The questions are, essentially, along the lines of, 'we are offering you lots of money, do you think that's a good idea?' which makes it sound like there's no downside.'

But Conservative council leader Cliff Jordan said: 'I want Norfolk people to have their say on devolution and frankly that's best done by hiring an independent company like MORI to set questions that do what's needed for a statutory consultation.

'I don't think it is a good idea to have every politician in the county trying to write their own questions. I am happy to trust officers to sort this out.'

Norwich, Great Yarmouth, Breckland and North Norfolk councils have all rejected the proposals.

That leaves the government needing to decide how to proceed with a process which chancellor George Osborne had championed.